Democrat Bob Kerrey shed a bit of light on the promises Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made to him before he agreed to jump in the Nebraska Senate race.

Kerrey, a former two-term senator, told the Omaha World-Herald that Reid gave Kerrey assurances that he would “respect” his previous 12 years of service when it comes to handing out committee assignments after the November election.

Reid, a Nevada Democrat, made no guarantees Kerrey would have his Senate seniority reinstated, Kerrey said. And while Kerrey requested help with fundraising, Reid made no firm commitments.

“The most important one was that when it came time to organize the Senate, he would respect my previous 12 years of previous service in the Senate, with no specific promise about seniority,” Kerrey told the newspaper in an article posted Thursday.

Kerrey had come under increasing pressure to explain the arrangement after admitting in media interviews that Reid had made him unspecified “promises” before he agreed to get in the race.

Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) and Kerrey’s GOP opponents have tried to compare the Kerrey deal to the so-called “Cornhusker Kickback,” the Medicare funding deal Reid offered to retiring Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) to try to secure his vote for the health care bill.

A POLITICO story posted Wednesday night raised questions about the Kerrey deal, saying it would continue to dog him until he came clean about what was in it.

In his interview with the World-Herald, Kerrey argued that his talks with Reid were typical for a candidate weighing a run for office and that being able to count his previous service would allow him to be more effective in the Senate.

Kerrey indicated to Reid he’d like to serve on the Appropriations, Agriculture and Armed Services Committee, all panels on which Nelson currently serves and with which Kerrey has past experience. The decorated Vietnam veteran previously served on Appropriations and Agriculture and did a stint on the Intelligence Committee when he was last in the Senate more than a decade ago.

Revelations about the Kerrey-Reid deal came as Democrat Chuck Hassebrook is expected to drop out of the Senate race and endorse Kerrey in Omaha, according to the local news site Nebraska Watchdog.

After Nelson announced his retirement, Kerrey last month had publicly ruled out a run for the open Senate seat. Hassebrook then opted for a Senate run rather than seek reelection for his long-held seat on the University of Nebraska Board of Regents.

But at the urging of his wife who saw that he was unhappy with the decision, Kerrey reversed course last week and entered the Senate race.